The Supreme Court ruled this morning that courts cannot rule on political partisan gerrymandering cases. http://bit.ly/2NhIIjY

The cases: The ruling was made on two cases involving political maps, one in Maryland and one in North Carolina.

The ruling: 5-4 along ideological lines.

The gist of Chief Justice John Roberts's majority opinion: "Roberts acknowledged that the maps at issue 'are highly partisan, by any measure,' but he said courts were ill-equipped to step in when legislators went too far when it comes to the politically sensitive task of drawing districts." https://politi.co/2Nij6n5

In Roberts's words: "Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust. But the fact that such gerrymandering is 'incompatible with democratic principles,' does not mean that the solution lies with the federal judiciary." http://bit.ly/2NhIIjY

It's a steaming hot Thursday in Washington, D.C. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com -- and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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If you click one lighter tidbit -- Oh man, this is great: "Dem candidates as Airplane! cast members" Photos -- some of these are pretty funny:http://bit.ly/2Yosvut

Tidbit during the commercial break: "A Democrat in the room tells me that during the commercial break, Beto walked over and shook de Blasio's hand, after de Blasio interrupted him during the first heated exchange of the night." (Via The Hill's Jonathan Easley) http://bit.ly/2YhMDOw

On de Blasio repeatedly jumping in: Slate's Will Saletan tweeted, "My son is groaning at De Blasio's repeated interjections. 'New Yorkers, am I right?'" http://bit.ly/31XeO7G

Video of the crowd laughing during the technical difficulties: Time went by SO slowly during these moments. Watch:http://bit.ly/31YGSaL

Booker explained why he gave Beto that look: "I just knew he had laid a gauntlet down," Booker told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "And I was talking a little bit with Castro. Both he and I knew, as people who can speak Spanish, that now we were gonna bring it as well." http://bit.ly/2NedY3d

^ Overheard: "Booker in an aside to an aide about why he was giving Beto THAT look: 'He kind of butchered his Spanish in the beginning'" (Via The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Tamari) http://bit.ly/31SLUFQ

Reaction to Booker/Castro's performances: "Booker & Castro both impressed a lot of folks I've spoken to but impressed them in a 'I'd like to see Elizabeth Warren consider him for VP' kind of way." (Via Vox's Matthew Yglesias) http://bit.ly/31XZ84j

What Team Tulsi tweeted from her official account during the debate: "It's clear who MSNBC wants to be president: Elizabeth Warren. They're giving her more time than all the other candidates combined. They aren't giving any time to Tulsi at all. -V (Tulsi's sister)" http://bit.ly/31ZqqY6

The tight deadline: Lawmakers are leaving for a long July 4 recess at the end of the week.

The disagreement: "President Trump and Senate Republicans are urging immediate enactment of the Upper Chamber's bill -- passed Wednesday with overwhelming bipartisan support -- while House liberals are demanding additional language ensuring the administration uses the allotted money to safeguard the children and families crossing the border."

FROM TRUMP'S OSAKA, JAPAN, TRIP

Our allies are lucky to have us, IMHO:

Earlier today, President Trump had a working dinner with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and was asked by a member of the Australian media if his "America First" agenda had a negative effect on allies. http://bit.ly/2NhASH4

Trump's response: "I think I can say very easily that we've been very good to our allies. We work with our allies. We take care of our allies. Generally speaking, I've inherited massive trade deficits with our allies. And we even help our allies militarily."

IN OTHER NEWS

The future of health care:

The Hill published a series of articles looking at the future of health care. The special report: http://bit.ly/2YoUee8